I was happy to see Decarbia quietly sitting in my embrace, but she was obviously nervous given that we don't really know each other. Demon or not, she is still a woman and would obviously be wary about sleeping in the same bed as another guy. Especially in his embrace…

"All men are wolves after all... However, my lust became close to inexistent after my 'godification'. Should we do an experiment? Hehehe..."

However, I didn't want to do anything which would scare this pretty lass. After all (from what she told me at least) she was chased back in this 'demon world' for Reaper knows how many years. Unable to remember the taste of proper food or the pleasure of sleep, carnal desires might be secondary on her mind right now.

Seeing that she wasn't able to calm down at all, I used a technique I learned from a really pervy buddhist monk, dude which was pretty much a gigolo before undertaking his vows. He called it 'matchmaking mantra'.

I first pulled her closer to me, my chest touching her back. Due to the lack of clothes, our skin was in direct contact and I caught in the corner of her eye, a look similar to a deer in the headlights. I found it funny, but the current purpose was to calm her down, not scare her further...

The skin is the most sensitive organ in the human body, therefore I used it to feel her heartbeat, listen to her breathing and slowly try to match it with my own.

I took her right hand in mine, holding it under her chest, while breathing slower than she was. My breath touched on her shoulder, hinting at a more calm and relaxed atmosphere and inviting her to join.

After some minutes passed and she got used to my presence and touch, her breathing stabilized and the beating of her heart calmed down considerably. At that point, I put my forehead on her back and closed my eyes. That was the final step and it showed great results.

Physical contact, reassurance, emotional support and finally, a show of trust. Four simple steps from what that perverted monk called 'matchmaking mantra'. In the past, it was always surprisingly effective and from the looks of it, it works on demons as well.

Maybe even more than it should, seeing the she turned to me and snuggled on my chest. As a man, that's probably the thing, since it can tickle our protective nature the most and it obviously worked on me as well, given how I truly feel that I should make a place for her in this world as well. I used my left arm to slide under her head to support it and the right around her waist holding onto her, while we both slowly drifted asleep.

[I am surprised you came back so soon... are you that curious about the continuation?]

"Not really... I just fell asleep. Your name?"

[Does it matter?]

"Does it matter that I hear voices in my head as soon as I fall asleep? Yeah... kind of..."

[Humorous... not something I can say I was at any point in time in the past...]

"Irrelevant… So? Who are you?"

[You are wording that wrong...]

"For a voice in my head you're surprisingly annoying... Then? What now?"

[We continue the story, until you find out what you worded wrongly.]

"Haaah... Okay, do what you want. I will admit I am a bit curious..."

The silence beguiled darkness and the darkness descended akin to a blanket over my body. I opened my eyes and blinked slowly...

[A shitty place...](?)

"Truly a shitty place..." - I confirmed

Everything, which my eyes encompassed was drowned in a sea of fire, resembling the pure hatred of this world... unforgiving and unrelenting, not giving life even the slight chance to harbor hope of blooming in this God forsaken place.

[I made you suffer my friend. All because of my selfishness...](?)

"It isn't like I don't know what sort of person you are Lucifer... Beside that obviously exaggerated pride of yours, aren't you my best friend?"

[Saying that when you are even more prideful than I am? Corbett, are you making fun of me?](Lucifer)

"Hahaha! Truly though... what are we supposed to do with this place?"

Seeing the look in the eyes of this friend of mine that unknowingly dragged me down to hell with him, quite literally, I realized that even this sort of shitty place won't put a damper on his ambitions.

"Ugh... you should know my personality best. You know I dislike effort..."

[You mean that I know how lazy you are.](L)

"..."

[Even if you roll your eyes at me, it doesn't change the fact that it's the truth.](L)

"Are you really planning to go ahead with that crazy plan of yours?"

[How do you know it is a crazy plan? I didn't even tell you what I want to do...](L)

"Why are you admitting that your plan is crazy before telling me what it is..."

We both laughed for a while, trying to diffuse the shitty situation we were in. After Chronos 'sentenced' both of us to manual labor in this third realm of the world, we found only flames for as long as our eyes could see. The image of her was still fresh imprinted in my memory, as well as the tears she was crying, while looking at her brother and me departing.

Remembering the promise I made Chronos agree with forcibly, I felt powerless for the first time since meeting her. I have been in her company for so long that I forgot how to act and behave when I am not. To think that I forgot even who I was prior to meeting her...

[Are you thinking of my sister?](L)

"Mhm... Is it that obvious?"

[Yes. I am truly jealous of you two. You know that?](L)

"You never told me before. Why?"

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[Because of how complete and at peace you two look like when you’re together.](L)

"Hahaha! That is truly the case... was, truly the case. Nevertheless, you haven’t shown an interest in a soul companion ever since I met you. And Lucifer, we know each other for longer than either of us can remember..."

[Just because I am jealous doesn't mean that I am willing to give myself so trustingly to someone else. Just from seeing your reaction right now makes me realize that it's a bad decision to make...](L)

"Your thought process surprises me each time, again and again..."

[Will you help me?](L)

"Isn't it why I'm here for?"

[I want to make this place ours...](L)

"I know how you wanted to make that sound, but it still came out wrong..."

[I want to make this place better than the Heaven...](L)

"And that came out blasphemous and we might get wiped out from existence if Chronos hear it..."

[However, you will still help me?](L)

"Is not like I have a choice, do I?"

[Alright, let me do a sweep of this place first then.](L)

Leaving aside his questionable personality, his strength and ability is first class among all angels. His leadership skills are unquestionable and he becomes stronger, the more people follow him. Thinking up to this point, even I begin to wonder if Chronos did this on purpose in order for his position not to be threatened.

[I found others here!](L)

"Huh!? Really? Let's go then!"

[There's a literally ocean of flames which could easily burn our very souls away between our position and theirs... How do you plan to go there?](L)

"Did you forget about these bad boys?"

With a slight movement of my hands, on each ring finger a shadow appeared. A flicker could be seen in Lucifer's eyes, showing a bit of greed. I don't blame him though. Even characters like Chronos would be tempted, so there's no reason to blame a straightforward person like this friend of mine.

[Pandora's Gifts...](L)

"Mhm."

[From my knowledge and even Chronos confirmed this for us, you are the only person in possession of two of these rings. The more in the possession of one user, the stronger the person becomes. That multiplier effect is said to be so horrific that even regular angels could contest in power with Titans with only three of these rings on their person. I wonder what all six of them could do...](L)

"It's said that they were never meant to belong to a single person..."

[Do you know of their origins? Actually, you never told me how you came to possess them to begin with...](L)

"It's a really long story..."

[We have nothing but time.](L)

"Haaaah! Fine... In a past unknown to us, there was a place where the Ancients gathered and were born called the Playground."

[Pfft!](L)

"I know right? I also laughed when I learned the name and was punched in the gut because of it, but realized later on, just how appropriate it was when I was informed the reason for which it was called that."

[Oh?](L)

"Ancients... the ones which brought worlds and constellations into existence, as well as the ones we call Gods. For the Ancients that were born recently, all gathered there in order to learn how to use their innate powers and breathe more life into the universe. The Playground came into existence when a Supreme One became a teacher there, leading the young ones to follow in his footsteps. Playing around with the creation of countless worlds, stars and even life itself... what better name could it have?"

[...](L)

"Yeah, I also have no clue what the Ancients or the Supreme Ones are, but from the story I was told, they are existences way above the realms of Gods."

[What does that have to do with the rings?](L)

"Everything. The story is about one of these Supreme Ones, Pandora. Using her life experience and almost all her power, she brought into existence six Ancients with infinite potential. Deeming them as her sons and daughters, she taught them everything she knew and brought them to the Playground soon after for even more. All six of them were supreme geniuses, which easily overtook the other Ancients present there and their 'mother' was gratified when she heard about it. When they learned everything there was to learn and the time to create their own worlds arrived, as parting gifts Pandora requested another Supreme One which owed a favor to her, to help her create something suitable for each one of them.

Intrigued, the Supreme One agreed and by using a strand of the soul essence from each one of the children, he brought into being one of his most outstanding creations ever… using six different stars that lived longer than he did. There were three girls and three boys among the children, so he decided to compress the potential of his creation to the maximum by using the burnt potential of the stars, therefore the rings were decided upon.

For the youngest daughter that had a shy personality and was often bullied because of it, the ring had the ability of enhancing her aura many times fold, giving the impression of a supreme existence to those who wore it. To the second daughter that was a tomboy, the ring exuded an aura of absolute charm, capable of mesmerizing even the Supreme Ones, created from a mother's worry that her child won't find a suitable companion due to her personality. The firstborn daughter was really lady-like and outspoken, giving a carefree yet a responsible air. The only thing that she was lacking was flexibility. Therefore, a ring that could transform into anything she wished for was created. For the boys that were more interested in fighting, the rings became more violent. The youngest son which was incredibly smart and cunning but lacked the power of his peers, it directly magnified his overall power many times fold. For the second son that was as powerful as the oldest brother was, but didn't know how to lead his people, the ring had an aura of leadership making sure that each order given would be followed to the letter. The firstborn of all the six children was an absolute genius, with strength, charm and undeniable leadership, however was not proficient in the arcane. The elemental arts of the Ancients was equal to the laws of the world itself, powerful enough to make the skies themselves burn if they wished it to, or the ground to be flooded by water all the same. Unable to sense the essence of the elements, the firstborn was given the strongest ring among all six, a ring capable of using any sort of elemental arcane art."

[Long...](L)

"Screw off! You're the one that asked."

[I wasn't expecting you to be so long-winded. Anyway, which ones do you have?](L)

"I forgot how much your personality sucks when compared with your sister's... You know my abilities the best... which ones do you think I have?"

[Oh, right... Huh!? You fucker! That means that you cheated in our fights so far!?](L)

"Hmpf! Dealing with you just using my normal abilities is sufficient."

[Arrogant bastard!](L)

"Like you're the one to talk..."

The laughter of two beings echoed through the flaming emptiness, as darkness engulfed everything once more.

[Seems like time's up again...]

"Are you him?"

[Which 'him' are you referring to? Anyway, you should know without having to ask, right?]

"Underworld... The third realm of Earth... Then what does that make the other Gods beside Reaper? And Decarbia said she came from the demon world, also known as the Underworld. Same place? This... is confusing to the max... Also, what the fuck are Ancients and Supreme Ones?"

[If I didn't know then, what makes you think I'd know now?]

"What about those two rings?"

[Ancestral legacy. You have them as well.]

"Bullshit! I haven't received any... ancestral? Are you my ancestor then?"

[I am your father!]

"Fuck off! I'm serious here."

[Like I said, you'll know when the time is right. Look in your Status Page when you wake up. I hope you'd like my ... gifts...]

I woke up some hours later under the gazes of Mia and Alexandra. They were smiling, however it didn't really feel like a smile considering how scared I felt. Braving myself, I looked straight at Mia and asked her the time. It seems that I barely slept two hours...

Signaling the two of them, we left the bedroom leaving a soundly asleep Decarbia. Looking at the beautiful aura she was exuding I suddenly thought to myself just how much of an excellent creature she was. Of course my gaze was caught and there was a trace of disdain in the eyes of the other two fairies by my side. It seems that my dream harem is still quite a far distance away...

"Especially since I didn't even kissed one of them so far... Since when did I become this useless!?"